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Barnes & Noble and Rutgers to Open Bookstore in Downtown Newark

Plans author signings, open-mic poetry nights and Saturday story hours for children as part of its community offerings

The mixed-use redevelopment of the historic Hahne & Co. department store site in downtown Newark will include a Whole Foods Market, a restaurant by chef Marcus Samuelsson and a new bookstore.
Photo:
Agaton Strom for The Wall Street Journal

Downtown Newark’s revitalization could get a boost next year with a new bookstore from a national brand.

Barnes & Noble Education Inc.
and Rutgers University-Newark will open a 10,000-square-foot bookstore catering to the general public and Rutgers students as part of the mixed-use redevelopment of the historic Hahne & Co. department store site.

The bookstore will join the project’s other marquee tenants, which include
Whole Foods Market
and celebrity chef
Marcus Samuelsson,
who is planning a new restaurant at the location. The store is expected to open in February.

Barnes & Noble Education, which spun off from the consumer retail bookseller
Barnes & Noble Inc.
more than a year ago, is planning events such as author signings, open-mic poetry nights and Saturday story hours for children as part of its community offerings, the company said.

“It would be a gathering place for the community,” said
Patrick Maloney,
president of Barnes & Noble College, a subsidiary of Barnes & Noble Education. “Hopefully, they would get a cup of
Starbucks,
come across the street and spend a few hours with us.”

Rutgers and Barnes & Noble decided to relocate their bookstore, now tucked away in an academic building, to make it part of a broader effort to reinvigorate downtown Newark.

The team behind the project—L+M Development Partners Inc. and its partners
Prudential Financial Inc.
and
Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
—view the redevelopment of the 400,000-square-foot building as a crucial neighborhood connector. The project also will have 160 apartments, with 40% set aside for affordable housing.

“How many campuses are there that are gated and separated from town?” said
Jonathan Cortell,
vice president of development at L+M Development Partners. “Here, Rutgers is making a concerted statement that this is a rich city with a soul.”